Manny.
That had become my nickname. "Manny" was short for manic behaviour. I was hyper beyond in an environment that should have turned me into a lazy-boy chair but instead turned me into a human spinning top.
I was the Energizer Bunny times ten.
You see, Still Rock was not just any old cabin in the woods whose grounds were teeming with untold flowers and colorful mulch, swing chairs and hammocks.
Still Rock is a spiritual retreat.
For real.
(Given my energetic reaction, it should have been called "Rolling Stone" but then again, these things affect everyone differently).
And Still Rock carries within its parameters an energy vortex that is conducive to experiencing greater shifts in self-awareness than if you were say, at the corner of Portage and Main in downtown Winnipeg.
Of course, you have to want it too.
But that is, fundamentally, the reason for its existence and the reason I went. This place helps people shift into a newer, better version of themselves on the path to greater meaning and self-awareness in their lives.
And it's perfect.
Not only is it divinely peaceful, but it holds a spiritual energy where people gather to process and transform their lives to the next level on a path of personal and spiritual evolution. With that kind of continual lingering energy, it's impossible not to transform.
Think about it for a minute...
There's a reason we are more comfortable in some environments than others. That's why we gravitate towards some places when we need a 'boost' and stay the hell away from others when we are feeling emotionally drained or weak.
Sometimes it's the energy of the people in that area and sometimes it's the place itself that holds a certain magnetic field, ley line, sacred energy, hallowed ground, or strong vibration that has a certain effect on those who visit.
It's like being in a church.
Even if you aren't religious, a place like Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris can have a profoundly pious effect on even the most sacriligious of characters. Sure, it might be the deliberate architecture designed to draw your eye upward that reminds you how small you really are in the cosmos, but it's more than that.
I think it's also a quality of energy based on the millions of people who have passed through it and silently uttered their heart-felt prayers. In my opinion, that intent lingers and we, who enter its sacred doors, feel the remnants of that powerful collective energy.
But whatever it is, in times of stress we are drawn to certain areas and tend to steer clear of others. Why? Because intuitively we KNOW. In that way we're pretty damn smart as human beings even if we don't admit it most of the time or call it hogwash to our friends (but secretly admit it when we're hovering between theta and delta as we slip into an unconscious sleep).
But we KNOW what's good for us. And WHERE. It's too bad most of us don't do anything about it. Or when we do, it's not frequent enough.
And although some people may argue that any cabin has a positive effect because it's away from the city and surrounded by nature, I beg to differ. I've been to some and thought, "I'd rather be home and back in my own space."
If you still don't get what I'm talking about, just google 'what is an energy vortex' and watch what happens. Probably the most famous area with a plenitude of vorteces would be in Sedona. People come from all over the world to experience its effects.
Sedona's vorteces are simply known as 'The world's most popular invisible tourist attraction'.
So given that I knew what I needed, and heard what Still Rock was all about, I made a decision...
I was going to Still Rock to transform.
What exactly, I didn't know. But I knew something was going to happen.
And what better way to start that journey than glide through still waters on a kayak... chasing eagles....
